Links to latest and best bombing suspect manhunt news

This morning we’ve all been glued to social media and the news waiting for more word coming out about the Boston Marathon bombing suspects and the chaos that seemed to erupt overnight.

There’s so much happening at a rapid pace, it seems impossible to catch up.

But here’s a list of some live coverage that seems to provide good background as well as up-to-the-minute updates that will keep you informed. It’s where I’m getting my info, frankly:

• Believe it or not, but TMZ has great coverage as well as a news livestream. TMZ has really gone from gossip to news in recent years, and I think they’ve done a good job.
• The New York Times has a good liveblog set up detailing the latest updates. They also have good links to things like the photo essay of the dead suspect taken at a boxing practice.
• The Boston Globe has a good timeline set up to let you know what happened overnight. Since most of us woke up after much of this took place, it’s very handy.
• Once you get that background info, Slate.com has some very good, nuanced coverage, talking about some of the things mainstream places don’t cover right away.
• As always, Twitter has good info constantly coming in. As always, verification is key, but in situations like this, it’s the best source and bad information is often quickly fact-checked.

Let me know what else you come across, and keep emergency responders in your thoughts.

The smells of the job

When some people think back on an event, they remember the images, sounds or voices of a scene. For me, it’s the smells –  I most often remember my stories based on smells.

Hear me out.

Yesterday, I was on the scene of a house fire as friends and family began to clean up. The rain was still falling from the remnants of Sandy – whose winds apparently helped spread the flames of the fire.

Here’s what the scene looked like when myself and Daily Item photographer Rob Inglis arrived:

What struck me first was the smell. It was a charred wood smell, mixed with a pungent barn smell from the family’s barn across the street.

It’s these smells that stick with you – you get them in your nose and you can smell them for days afterward.

For example, about a month ago, I was on the scene of an accident which happened to be near where a deer carcass was laying. I walked around with the roadkill deer smell in my nostrils for about a week afterward. I couldn’t get it out of my head.

Even now, when I smell that roadkill-ish, garbage smell, I think right back to that accident scene.

What takes you back to certain memories? Are you a smeller too?